


April Snow

by StellanFan (yankeetooter), yankeetooter



Category: Chernobyl (TV 2019)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Sacrifice, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:48:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21624829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yankeetooter/pseuds/StellanFan, https://archiveofourown.org/users/yankeetooter/pseuds/yankeetooter
Summary: Valery is very aware of the danger, but forgets himself for another.
Relationships: Valery Legasov/Boris Shcherbina
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the 2019 Advent ficlet challenge. I don't know if I'll post everyday, but I'm going to try. Although each day's prompt will show as the next chapter, the stories will not necessarily be chronological, but will mainly be standalones.

Boris walked back to the hotel after a bout of long phone conversations where he had tried to convince his superiors of the need for 5,000 tons of sand and boron. He was tired, but the crisp air helped him relax. As he walked, he thought about Valery Legasov. The man was both infuriating and fascinating, and Boris wasn't quite sure what to make of him. But one thing was for certain - Valery seemed to be the only one who had a clue as to the seriousness of the situation. He also, despite his uncertainty in coming up with a solution, was likely the only one who would be able to figure things out. And for that, Boris appreciated him immensely, because he himself felt completely lost as to what was to be done. Which was why he had jumped at the chance to do something practical and procure the sand and boron for the first step of the clean-up.

As Boris pondered all this, snowflakes began to fall from the sky, or at least what appeared to be snowflakes. Boris, having paused near the hotel entrance, watched as a sort of peacefulness seemed to descend on the town. He had always loved snow, and at a time such as this, he welcomed the sight even more.

\--------------------------

Valery wandered down to the hotel lobby, at a loss as to how to spend the evening. It was much too early to sleep, and he doubted he would sleep at all tonight, as keyed up as he was. And there was too much to do! But nothing could be done until morning, when the helicopters could safely fly and dump their burden over the core, or at least as close to it as they could get.

He walked over to the doors leading outside, each door containing a large pane of glass for viewing what must normally be a pleasant view. He would have taken a walk if he was back in Moscow. He often walked at night, finding it calming. It was a good way to get his mind to stop racing. But here at Chernobyl it was not safe to be outside more than necessary, what with the radioactive particles being borne on the wind. 

Leaning his forehead against the glass, he peered outside. What was that? It looked like snow, but...oh no! It must be some of the heavier particles succumbing to gravity. As dangerous as it had been outside before, it was much worse now! And then, approaching from the direction of the military encampment, a tall figure came into view who could only be the Deputy Chairman. As Valery watched, Shcherbina stopped some little ways from the hotel entrance and lifted his gaze up, watching the "snow" fall. What was he doing? Was he mad?

Opening the door, Valery called out. "Deputy Chairman! What are you doing? Come inside now!"

Boris turned at the sound of Valery's voice, but waved him off. Couldn't he enjoy the evening even a little without that obnoxious man trying to ruin it? Okay, no doubt there was more bad news, but it could wait five minutes, couldn't it?

Valery's heart raced as he saw Boris wave him off and continue gazing at the snow. What could he do? It was too dangerous to go outside, but...

Throwing caution and all his fears to the wind, Valery raced outside, yelling for Shcherbina to get inside. Skidding to a halt in front of the Deputy Chairman, who seemed determined to ignore him, he screwed up his courage, grabbed Shcherbina's arm, and began dragging him back to the hotel door.

Boris was caught off guard by Valery's behavior, and so allowed himself to be tugged along, half-bemusedly as it were. What had gotten into the man?

Once inside, Valery was practically hysterical, and would not stop shouting about radioactive particles and the like. He kept trying to remove Boris' coat, while also trying to brush the "snow" out of Boris' hair, (although not too successfully, given the height difference between them.)

Boris, trying to avoid a scene, grabbed Valery and manhandled him into the coat-check room, propping a chair against the door handle to prevent anyone from barging in on them. Seeing Valery was still beside himself, he removed his long coat, although he insisted on hanging it neatly on a hanger. He slapped Valery's hands away, but took a handkerchief and dried off his hair. He went to put it back in his pocket but a still frantic Valery grabbed it and threw it in a wastebasket.

Boris had had enough. He grabbed Valery's hands to keep them still, then pushed him up against the wall. One large hand went over Valery's mouth to silence the man. "What is wrong with you? Has another reactor exploded? Because I'm trying to figure out why you're behaving like this! Now breathe! And what's the big deal with my coat? It's only a little snow!"

As Valery began to calm himself, Boris removed his hand. "Deputy Chairman, you don't understand! That's not snow! Those are radioactive particles falling from the smoke plume rising from the core. It's not safe to be outside. You've been breathing those particles in every moment you were out there!"

Boris blanched at this, going silent for a minute. And here Legasov had only been trying to warn him. Then his expression turned thoughtful. Still holding Valery up against the wall, he leaned in. "So you're telling me that being out there for even a few seconds is dangerous?" 

Valery nodded his assent. He was suddenly all too aware of Boris' body pressing him against the wall, of his face so close to his.

"So, let's say I dropped my gloves coming in. I shouldn't even go back out to retrieve them?" Valery shook his head, looking alarmed until Boris nodded at said gloves sticking out of his coat pocket.

"Ah! If that is so, then why did you run outside to drag me in? What could you have been thinking?" Boris had a pleased look on his face, feeling as if he had won the point.

Valery flushed. "Y-you wouldn't listen when I tried to tell you! I didn't know what else to do!"

"So you knew of the danger but you didn't care?" Boris leaned in even closer, his breath tickling the hairs on Valery's forehead.

Valery stuttered, trying to think of a logical argument for what he had done, even though he knew one didn't exist. He hadn't thought about the consequences, had only cared about Shcherbina not being outside for one more minute. He tried to stammer out some lame excuse, but was interrupted by Boris' mouth slamming into his in a long intense kiss.

Reeling when Boris finally released him from the kiss, he peered up at the taller man, his cheeks reddened. "Boris?"

Another kiss, this one more gentle, but no less in intensity. Valery tensed up at the thought of them being caught, but as Boris began nuzzling at his neck, he relaxed and sagged into Boris' strong arms. 

"My stubborn, brave scientist, risking his life to save me!" Boris growled, while his lips continued exploring Valery's throat. When Valery tried to protest his lack of bravery, Boris silenced him again with another kiss on the lips. "Hush! No arguing! We've argued enough for one day, eh?"

Valery succumbed to Boris' attentions, all thoughts of sand and boron erased from his mind for the time being. The world of Chernobyl, and Pripyat, and indeed the Soviet Union, had disappeared like so much melting snow, at least until tomorrow.


	2. Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valery wishes there had been more time.

Christmas Eve, 1987. Valery sat dejected in his apartment. It was the first Christmas after the infamous trial, a trial in which his part had doomed him to a life of solitude and loneliness. But there was one person Valery missed more than anyone else. Boris. They had only had the one Christmas together, last year, but Valery smiled to remember it. They had still been involved with the Chernobyl clean-up, but had managed to surprise each other with gifts and a shared quiet evening. 

If only he had known a year ago how very quickly their time was coming to an end. So many days wasted, so many opportunities missed, and now this. A lonely Christmas Eve with only Sasha to keep him company.

As if on cue, Sasha pawed at his leg to remind him that she wanted her dinner so Valery went in the kitchen and cut her some turkey, distracted for a few minutes from his moping. While Sasha ate, he wandered over to the window and looked outside. It had snowed earlier, making everything look serene. A shooting star crossed Valery's vision, and he smiled ruefully. If only that old adage about making a wish on a shooting star were true, he knew what he would wish for. A tall silver-haired man would come striding across the snow, and it would be Boris! Boris would come and rescue him from his lonely life, and perhaps they would somehow manage to leave the USSR. Ah, who was he kidding? Silly wives' tales! He was a scientist and should know better. Valery turned away and went back into the living room, which is why he missed the tall figure across the street, looking across to his apartment.

For a while, Valery dozed. His dreams took him back to one of his favorite days - he was back working in the trailer with Boris at Chernobyl, and Boris was humming tunelessly under his breath. Valery sat at his desk working on figures, enjoying the fact that he and Boris were virtually uninterrupted. He would look up occasionally and watch Boris working, but then Boris would catch him doing so and do something to fluster him. Once, he winked at Valery, who felt his cheeks redden. Another time Boris got up and walked over to Valery, standing behind him with his hands on Valery's shoulders. This of course wrecked Valery's concentration, so that he could barely have added two and two. Finally, Boris walked away chuckling, knowing how his closeness threw Valery off course. They had lunched in the trailer that day, just the two of them, which was how Valery preferred it. He loved these precious rare moments alone with Boris.

In the middle of his dream, he heard the sound of knocking. He tried to ignore it, as it didn't fit in with his dream. The knocking persisted, however, and Valery finally woke up enough to register that someone was at the door. He glanced at the clock...it was almost midnight! Who would come knocking at this hour?

A bit put out, Valery flung the door open, a retort ready on his lips. His snarky comment died unspoken at the sight of a snow covered Boris standing in the doorway, carrying a large paper bag, 

Valery had to rub at his eyes. Surely he was still asleep! "Borja!? Can it really be you?"

Boris set his bag down and engulfed Valery in a hug, laughing heartily at his friend's surprise. "Of course it's me Valera! Were you expecting Father Christmas?"

Valery could only beam as he hugged Boris back fiercely. He owed some old wives an apology.

And Boris had brought all sorts of good things with him. There was a bottle of vodka, some of Valery's favorite pastries, and a gift for Valery as well.

"Oh, but Boris! I didn't know you were coming! I have nothing for you!" Valery protested. 

Boris cupped Valery's face in his hands and kissed him gently. "You're the only gift I need, Valera! Come on, let's go for a walk!"

No protest this time, though Valery wondered about his ever present watchers. Boris reassured him. "A gifted bottle of vodka, an those two are snoring like logs! They'll be out for at least a few more hours. Now bundle up!"

It was snowing again, and the world was a different place. As far as Valery could tell, they were the only two people in the world. They walked hand in hand, leaning into each other, Valery thinking he had never been happier in his whole life. If only he could have met Boris under different circumstances and they didn't have to be separated!

He was jostled out of his thoughts when Boris playfully pushed him into a pile of snow.

"Stop thinking such deep thoughts!", Boris growled. "Tonight I want you completely with me, not wandering through the world of chemical reactions!"

Valery nodded, then squealed in protest as Boris began pommeling him with snow. When he tried to fight back, Boris put snow down his back. Valery surrendered, laughing harder than he had in a very long time.

Boris graciously pulled him up and brushed the snow off him. "I guess we better go get warm. I brought cocoa for hot chocolate!"

On the way back to the apartment, Boris spotted a shooting star. "Make a wish, Valera!"

"I already did earlier, Borja, and it came true!"

Boris raised his eyebrows skeptically. He had only been kidding. Of course nobody believed that old wives' tale! "What did you wish for?"

Valery waxed bashful all of a sudden. Blushing, he gestured towards Boris, who looked genuinely touched. Boris took him under a tree, out of the streetlight's glow and kissed Valery passionately. "Then keep wishing, Valerka, for both our sakes!". Boris turned away before Valery could see the tears that escaped his eyes.

Hours later, Boris and Valery sat on the floor, both half dozing. The bottle of vodka was mostly empty, and a good portion of the pastries as well. Boris stirred first. Placing a folded letter near Valery, he gently extricated himself and began cleaning up. When Valery still hadn't stirred upon his return, he carried him to bed and tucked him in, kissing his forehead tenderly. Leaving the letter on the bedside table, he caressed his friend's cheek one last time and crept out.

\-----------------

Valery woke the next morning. What a wonderful dream he had had. If only it had been real! Then he saw the letter on his nightstand. Tearing it open, he recognized Boris' handwriting.

"Dearest Valera...

I'm so glad we were able to be together last night. I have missed you so much. I'll try to come back and see you. Don't give up! And keep wishing be on those shooting stars!

I love you forever and always!

B."

Valery didn't realize he was crying until the drops of moisture hit the paper. He hadn't been dreaming after all! 

After that, Valery found it easier to endure his loneliness. He found he loved snowy evenings more than ever, and some nights after supper, he would gaze out the window, hoping to see another shooting star. And every once in a while, a tall figure would appear and silently make his way up to Valery's apartment, and for awhile their lives would be blissfully complete.


End file.
